Do you remember the old expression, “Make hay while the sun shines”? For Susana Cozea and the other families who live in the tiny town of Scrind, Romania, that is not just a saying; it’s smart living. Here in this small mountain village, hay is still cut and mounded by hand. If you try to do that too early in the day, you are asking for trouble, since everything is still damp. The time to cut the grass, spread it on the ground to dry, and mound it into haystacks is during the heat of the day.
Haystacks in Scrind, Romania
The day we visited Scrind, temperatures were well over 90 degrees. Susana and her husband, both in their seventies, were further up the mountain behind their house, hard at work. They graciously came in from the field to meet with us.
We were there to talk to the family, especially Susana, about the way their church has gotten involved in foreign mission work. Even though Scrind boasts a population of only 120 people, and only 10-12 attend the local church, their church helps support a Romanian family doing Bible translation work in Ethiopia. On the surface, this doesn’t seem possible. And yet, their church sends financial help to the Pascalau family every month.
Susana is one of the lay leaders in their church, and she lights up when she talks about the Pascalaus. “Petru came to our church and talked about missions. We trusted him because we knew him. I was really happy someone from the region wanted to go. I was impressed he was taking the whole family. Translation is part of obeying the great commission—otherwise people can’t hear the gospel.”
She grinned and said, “If I were younger, I would have gone!”
Susanna Cozea (photo by Soren Kjeldgaard)
Instead, she reads the Pascalau’s newsletters in church and the church prays for them. Susana said, “I’m very happy to be a little part of this work. Can’t wait to hear the news, how the work is going. Then we know how to pray, how they’re doing. Knowing is important. Petru wrote that he needs a car, so the church is praying about that.”
In Ethiopia, because of taxes, even a 10-15 year-old car will cost $40,000 US. But Susana is confident that Petru will get a car.
Meeting Susana, seeing her twinkling eyes, her zest for life and her steadfast faith affected me on a heart level. She lives what she believes. And her willingness to get involved, even in the face of impossible odds, reminds me that when people work together for a common goal, big, impossible tasks become realities.
And big, impossible dreams come to life.
For more about how small churches are making a big difference, please go to: http://www.wycliffe.net/stories/tabid/67/Default.aspx?id=2486 (full version) or https://wycliffeusa.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/small-romanian-churches-make-a-big-difference/ (Shorter version)
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